Improvement in sugar-cane mills



W. H. CLARK 8a R. R. JAMES. SUGAR GANE MILL.

No. 41,681. Patented Feb. 23, 1864.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

XVM. H. CLARK, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, AND B. lt. JAMES, OF RISING SUN, INDIANA.

IMPROVEMENT IN SUGAR-CANE IVIILL'S.

vSpecilieation forming part of Letters Patent No. 41.681 dated February 23, 1864.

To all whom, it may concern: A

Be It knownthat we, WILLIAM H. CLARK,

of Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton andl State of'Ohio, and REUBEN R. J AMES, of Ris ing Suu, in the county of Ohio and State of Indi-ana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sugar-GaneMills; and we do hereby declare the ibllow-ingto be a full, clear, and exact desc-ription thereof, vreference being had to the accompanying'A drawings, and letters ot reference marked thereon, forming part of this specification.

Our improvements relate to mills ofl three rolls, which are set verticallyin an iron frame and are usually operated-'by animal power, andtheyrelate particularly to a tinted feedroll in combination with a smooth master and delivery roll; also, to a vibrating conductor held in contact with the feed-roll by a suitable spring; also, toa hand-hole in the top plate;

. also, tothe use of a bridge-piece across the juice-channel, permitting the latter to be extended across the track traversed by the cane, as will appear also, to the employment of certain grooves cut in the top and bottom plates in the track or circle described by the ends'of the rolls, or to grooves for a similar purpose formed in the ends of the rolls, or, if required, in both the plates and ends of rolls, as will be explained.

IVe will now proceed to describe our improvements in detail, referring to thcvaccompanying drawings, in which- .Figure l is a perspective view of a canemill containing our. improvements. 'Fig. 2 is a vertical section. Fig..3 is an end view of a roll. Fig. i is a top View of a portion of the bottom plate; also representing a correspond` i ing portion of the lunder side of the top plate.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts, so far as represented, inthe different figures.

The cane-mi11 here represented is constructed with a cast-metal top plate, A, and bottom plate, B, between which'the working parts of rlhese plates are connected by vertical stay-plates C C, the whole being iirml y secured together by corner-bolts a a, &c.

l) reln'csentsl the masterroll; E, the feed- Ioll, and F the delivery-roll. The journals oi' these rolls are supported appropriately in boxes in the top and bottom plates, 'the shafts' of the rolls boing represented extending through the top plate at b b, &c. The shaft of the main roll is prolonged up to receive the sweep-cap c, as shown.

The mill is operated by a team attached to the sweep d, which gives'motion to the main roll. This is geared, as shown, with the minor rolls E and F, communicating a corresponding motion to them. The cane is fed to th'e mill through the feed `box or throat f, and is lfirst received vbetweenthe main roll and the tiu'ted feed-rolliE. From thence the partlyl" pressed cane passes around in contact wi th the I'nain roll until it enters between the latter and the roll F, where it-is iinally pressed.`

It is common to employ between the feed and delivery roll a fixed plate or 'conductor, sometimes called the returnenn This iS made with a sharp edge set against'the face-ot the feed-roll and operates to separate the" partly-pressed canetherefrom and conduct it g along to the entrance between the'main anddelivery roll where it is finally pressed. Thisv 'part of the machine is the source ofeons'iderabl'e annoyance and ditiicu'lty in most sugar-cane Its adjustment to the roll requires to be very accurate, otherwise a portion ofthe mills.

cane will enter and lodge between -the edge above 'referred to and-the face-of the roll, and

.continue .to accumulate until the passage through which the cane should freely `pass becomes clogged and the operation ofthe machine arrested; but when nicely adjusted, the

wearpto which the edge in contact with the roll is exposed, together with the gradual receding of the roll, which always occurs when a mill is worked, causes a separation of the edge ofthe plate from the face of the' roll and gives rise-to the clogging' above referred to. Again, whenit becomes necessary to set np the feed-roll, asis frequently required, the conductor, being a fixed plate whicll is or should be in contact with the face of the roll, offers resistance and is frequently broken in the operation.' Now, `io obviate all difficulties growing out of this mode of constructing and arranging the conductor, we employ a self-adjusting plate, which is supported in pivots at its ends and so arranged that the dividing-edge adapts itself to the face ofthe roll accurately, being held in contact there with by a suitable spring, as will appear.

formed on each end of the .conductor by which it is so carried as to be free to vibrate. The pivot at .the upper end, g, is prolongednp through the topV plate where it receives a suitable spring, g', so arranged as to pressthe edge 'of the plate or conductor against the face of the roll and retain it in contact there` with.

' i is a hand-hole in the top plate, aiiording access to the triangular space between the rolls, also to the ends of the rolls,for the pur.- pose of removing therefrom small fragments ofv cane and trashy which collect, and, if not frequently removed, ferment and become offensive. Asmall metal cap, h, covers the hand-hole.` This is so made and adapted to j the opening in the plate that its under face is ilush with the under face of the plate, making, with the latter, a Acontinuous 'plain surface, against which the cane on its passage through may rub without obstruction. l It may 'be remarked that it is the custom in. operating mills made without flanged rolls to so feed the `cane to the mill as to allow a considerable portion of the ends of the rolls torunx naked. A This is necessary in order to prevent' the cane in spreading between the rolls from passing over the ends and escaping uncrush ed.

ln our mill the rolls fill the entire space between the plates, the latter serving to some extent as flanges, and it is designed to feed the cane through the entire length of the rolls. Its tendency to spread or expand laterally is thus arrested by the inner faces of the plates, and it becomes necessary to present an even, uninterrupted surface along which the cane travels, otherwise a portion of cane in contact therewith would be obstructed and speedily accumulate until the passage of the whole would be interrupted and the operation of the mill suspended.

VVesare aware that openings have been made in thev end plates of cane-mills for the purpose -of introducing and adjusting the conductor;

but in such cases no cap has been employed,v

and the construction did not contemplate the purpose provided in the cap 71 herein described, forming, as has been stated, with the under face of the end plate a continuous plain surface against which the cane in its passage th rough may r'ub and pass without obstruction.

At j, Fig. 2, is seen a circular depression in the bottom plate. This represents transverse` ly the channel by which the juice is conveyed from 'the mill to an appropriate receptacle.- Its direction or course is outwardly between the two minor rolls to the edge of the bottom plate, 'where it discharges. It is desirable that the juice, as it is expressed from the cane and leaves the rolls, should fall, if possib1e,directly into the juice-channel withoutiirst spreadingv over the bottom plate, whe're it takes up the dirt `and impurities which collect. thereon. We therefore make this juice-channel broad and sufliciently deep to receive all the juice which maybe produced,- and we also extend l, the channel into and entirely across the tri.-

angular space between the rolls; but the cane as it passes through from the feed-roll to the delivery-roll crosses this channeland is liable to be arrested and become entangled in the space. 'To prevent this we vemploy a bridge piece or plate, 7c, theface of which is level with the face of. the plate.. This affords an even surface for the lpassage of the cane, while the' juice is at the same timeallowed to' fall almost directly into the juice-channel.V

It is found that in mills of this kind where no flanges' areemployed on. the vrolls frag- .ments of cane tend to Work intofthe narrow 'space between the ends f lthe -rolls and the top and bottom plates, greatly obstruct ing the operation of the machine, and freguently accumulating in such quantity, and "wedging into .thespace with such force, as to break thc mill.. To prevent this, or more properly to cause the fragements of cane td discharge themselves from this space as they are carried around by the rolls, we formin the top and bottom plates slight grooves cut in an appropriate directions, as represented in Fig. 4, where m indicates the grooves. The operation of these grooves is such that as the cane or fragmentsv are -carried around by the roll, they, are directed outwardly, by the direction ofithe grooves, beyond the periphery of the rolls. AGrooves may also be formed in appropriate directions in the ends of the rolls, as shown .in Fig. 3, where n represents `the grooves. These will operate in conjunction with the grooves in the plates, and thus effectually prevent the accumulation of substance in the narrow space;

- In reference to the iiuted feed-roll herein described, it is proper to remark that it has been common to cut, with a chisel or other tool, slight grooves or creases in the face of the delivery-r0ll of sugar-mills, and in some instances in both the deliveryand main rolls. These are for the purpose of p giving adhesion to the cane as it passes through between the rolls, receiving final pressure, and to prevent themass from stopping between the rolls while the latter continue to revolve. Grooves or creases for this purpose have not been made in the feed-roll for the reason that the difficulty they are designed to obviate only pertains to the passage of the cane between the main and deliveryV rolls. Moreover, this device does not accomplish in any respect'the purpose contemplated by our invention,and is in no respect identical with it. Our invention relates solely to the feed-roll, and consists in constructing' it with vregular flutes the function of which is to cause .a rupturing of' the woody fiber o1" the cane at shortintervals, to allol the .i uiee more readily` to escape from the cane when exposed to final pressure between the main and delivery rolls, both of which are left plain and smooth; also, to facilitate the first entrance or introduction of the cane to the niill. To therefore regard the construetion and function of the uted feed-roll herein described as being entirely unlike the de' vice consist-ing of easuall'yeut grooves or creases in the other two rolls before nientioned; and we desire to disclaim the'latter or any other device employed for the purpose of the tinted feed-roll E, when arranged and operating in connection with the former in the manner and for thepurposes herein de scribed.

2. The hand-hole yi. in the end plate and cap lz, whenv the latter is so constructed and adapted to the plate as lo forni, in ,connection therewith, a plainA face on the inner side, as and for the purpose specified.

The Vil) ating or self-adapting conductor G, in combination with either a plain or llnted feed-roll, for the purpose described.

i. In combination with the.jlilicecllannelj, extending into the triztnpjnlar space between the rolls, the hridgeplate K, for the purpose specified. 

